Self-locking seal.



J. P.- MOSEL.

SELF LOCKING SEAL.

APPLlCATION FILED AUG. 16. 1915.

l ,1 88,8 1 1 Patented June 27, 1916.

"barren srarns rarest orrrcn JOHN P. MOSEL, 0F BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SELF-LOCKING SEAL.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P. MOSEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self- Locking Seals, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to self-locking seals particularly adapted for use in connection with sealing freight car doors, and the ob ject of the invention is to provide a cheaper, simpler, and more efficient device than has been heretofore provided.

The invention consists in providing a casing or shell formed of cup like sections and which casing or shell is provided with axially alined openings, the edges of which are inturned so as to form abutments or stops, and a metallic strip provided with interlocking open slots near its ends adapted to pass through the axially alined openings in the casing and arranged by lateral deflection to lock the strap ends within the said casing.

The invention further consists in certain details of construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fully described and then claimed.

In the drawings, illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved selflocking seal, illustrating the ends of the strap locked within the casing or shell. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the seal illustrating the ends of the strap detached and the casing or shell carried by one end of the strap. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the seal, illustrating the ends of the strap in interlocked position prior to being incased within the casing or shell. Fig. 4: is a longitudinal section drawn through the casing or shell, showing the ends of the strap in side elevation. Fig. 5 is a transverse section drawn on the line a-a of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one end of the strap, illustrating a slightly modified construction. Fig. 7 is an end view of the same.

1 designates a metallic strap preferably of tin, but which, of course, may be of any other metal. The strap is provided, adjacent to its ends, with slots 2 opening through the opposite side edges thereof, and one end 3 of the strap carries a metallic casing or shell Serial No. 45,713.

4: having alining openings 5 through which the end 3 of the strap passes, said casing being designed to receive the interlocked ends of the strap as will be hereinafter described.

The metallic casing or shell may be cylindrical or of oval construction in longitudinal section, and I desire it understood that while the same is shown as constructed of two parts, which are clenched together in transverse direction by a seam 6, that any other suitable construction or shape may be employed without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

The ends of the strap 1 are provided with projections 7 which are formed by punching or otherwise bending the body of the strap outwardly, said projections serving the double purpose of preventing the casing or shell from being accidentally detached from the band, and also for the purpose of holding the ends thereof away from the body portion of the strap, as will be best understood from the general description of the operation of the device.

As stated, the invention is particularly designed for use in sealing the doors of freight cars, and in this use, the end 8 of the strap 1 is passed through the staple of the hasp employed for locking the said doors, the ends of the strap are then interlocked as shown in Fig. 3, in other words, by inserting the opposite ends of the band into the co-acting slots, the said ends are then pressed together by grasping the same between the thumb and forefinger of one hand, and with the other hand, the casing or shell 4 is shoved over the interlocked ends so that the casing or shell completely incases the said ends. As shown in Fig. 5, when the interlocked ends of the band are inclosed by the casing or shell 4, the said ends, through the elastic properties of the metal, will spring outwardly and thus prevent the ends of the strap being withdrawn through either slot 5 at the ends of the casing or shell; and that the ends are further prevented from lying flat against the ends of the strap 1 by means of the projections 7. I do not wish, however, to be understood as limiting the invention to the employment of the projections 7, as I have found from actual practice, that the ends of the band will bend outwardly from the strap sufiiciently to prevent the withdrawal of the interlocked ends through the slot of the casing when once inserted in the casing. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, I may notch the ends of the band as at 9, and in the process of forming the notch, the die will be so constructed as to bend the ends of the band in opposite directions on each side of the notch 9.

It will be understood, that the slots 5 of the casing or shell 4, are made only of suiticient width to permit the interlocked ends of the strap being passed therethrough only when the said ends are pressed together. When pressure upon the ends of the strap is released, the said ends will, through the elastic properties of the metal, automatically spring outwardly far enough to cause them. to engage the ends of the casing or shell when the latter is moved upon the strap or loop.

As shown most clearly in Figs. & and 5 of the drawings, the slots 5 are formed by punching the ends of the casing or shell inwardly so that lips or shoulders 5 are produced at the sides of the slots, and when pushing the casing or shell over the interlocked ends of the strap, the ends of the latter will spring outwardly the moment they pass the ends of the lips or shoulders 5. By this arrangement, it will be apparent, that should an attempt be made to push the casing or shell over the interlocked ends of the strap when the said ends are inclosed within the casing or shell, or to hold the easing or shell and attempt to draw the strap through the said casing, either end of the strap, as the case may be,will bebrought into engagement with the adjacent end of the easing back of the adjacent lip or shoulder 5,

thus absolutely preventing the withdrawal of the ends of the strap through the slots 5 without mutilating the casing. As also shown in Figs. and 5, the slots 2 of the strap are located at such distances from the ends thereof that when the said ends are interlocked and inclosed in the casing, only slight distances intervene between the extreme ends of the strap and the casing, so that it will be impossible, without mutilating the casing, to insert a flat blade or hook through the slots in order to bend the ends of the strap against the body portion there of to permit the interlocked ends being withdrawn from the casing.

It will be further understood that the projections 7 may be in the nature of a numoral or letter to designate the shipper, and that the band may be printed or stamped with the name of the shipper and the number of the seal. However, as the stamping of bands or straps is well understood in the use of such devices, it is not thought necessary to illustrate the same.

It will be further understood that my self-locking seal is automatic, and that no labor is required to assemble the device in the course of its manufacture other than stamping the band and forming the casing or shell, and passing the endsof the band through the casing or shell. l urthcrmore, by my device, it will be understood that when the ends of the band or strap are locked and inserted within the casing or shell, that the band passes entirely through the shell.

\Vhat I claim is 1. In a seal of the kind'described, a casingformed of two cup-like sections, each section having an opening with inwardly extending lips formed along opposite sides of said opening, the openings alining when the sections are secured together, and a strap the ends of which are adapted to be interlocked and said interlocked portions drawn into said casing, one end. of the strap being adapted to engage a lip adjacent one of the openings and the other end a corresponding lip adjacent the other opening, the said, strap being reversible with respect to said lips.

2. A seal comprising a casing or shell having axially alined openings the edges of which are inturned to provide abutments on opposite sides of the openings and a strap having its ends laterally interlocked and disposed within the casing and arranged by lateral deflection, securely to lock the strap ends within the casing the strap being reversible with respect to the abutments.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of August, A. D. 1915.

JOHN P. MOSEL.

lVitnesses JMARY E. Lyony, ALICE M. Banyan.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Gomminloncr or men, Washington, D. G." 

